HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: Gahr has a loaded lineup

There is no other lineup in the area that begins the season with more Division I college commits than Gahr High, the top-ranked team in the preseason CIF-SS Division 3 baseball poll.

And that's good news for Gladiators coach Gerardo Perez, who appears to have his best team since taking the reins in 2005.

"This is definitely the best team I've had here, and what I like most about these guys is that they work so hard and want to get better each day," said Perez, who guided his team to the semifinals last year. "We feel very good about what we've got, but we know Downey, Warren and Paramount will make us earn this so we've got a lot of work ahead of us and hope to be playing our best baseball when the playoffs begin."

Third baseman Kevin Franklin headlines the Gladiators' five college-bound standouts and rivals Lakewood's JP Crawford as the area's most sought-after player. Franklin (.400, 27 RBIs) already has a full-ride scholarship to Arizona State, but the slugger is expected to be drafted in a favorable position and will have a tough decision to make if the money is right.

Gahr also has a workhorse in left-hander and UNLV commit Andrew Encinas (9-6, 0.86 ERA), who had 73 strikeouts in 70 innings last year and is expected to lead the staff again. Oregon-bound shortstop Jaime Estrada (.462, 30 RBIs) arguably was the area's most talented sophomore last year. Edgar Morales (.418) and Adonis Morrison (.360) are both headed to UC Riverside.

The Gladiators got that much stronger by landing the biggest area transfer in Suburban League MVP Greg Humbert (8-0, 1.60 ERA, .485, 32 RBIs). He will be the No. 2 starter behind Encinas and goes from the cleanup spot at Mayfair to the No. 2 hole for Gahr.

It's something of a rebuilding year for Downey, which lost its core to graduation but still is ranked No. 4 in CIF-SS Division 3.

Coach Jess Gonzalez's squad returns just three players with varsity experience. Pitcher Gabriel Llanes (2-0, 0.00 ERA) will see more action, Juan Gonzalez (.301) will do the catching, and shortstop Alex Rodriguez (.273) is another key player for Vikings. Pitcher/first baseman Randy Labeaut and outfielder Gabriel Soto step into new roles for Gonzalez.

"We lost our top three pitchers from a year ago, so we don't have a lot of experience as far as innings pitched goes," Gonzalez said.

"Gabe and Randy are going to have to step up (on the mound) if we want to compete for a league title. Offensively, we have a lot of newcomers who are competing for playing time."

Alan Trejo, a transfer from Cathedral and a San Diego State commit, first baseman Rene Vega, Dailin Lee and Brandon Hernandez head the young talent that will need to step up if the Bears are to surprise.

"We have good, hard-working and disciplined kids and we'll get better with each game," Pearson said. "There has already been a big improvement since day one.

"The key to our success will be playing catch and throwing strikes. We should be fundamentally sound and play with a lot of good energy."

Paramount, ranked No. 9 in the division, is led by team MVP and four-year varsity player Frankie Valenzuela (.452, 1-1, 0.52 ERA, 5 saves), and left-hander Ulices Moreno (1.65 ERA) is looking to build on last year's 36 strikeouts in 30 innings.

"When we play well, our pitching and defense is solid, but we need to break out offensively," Valenzuela said. "My teammates are starting to understand the tradition the players before us left and we want to keep expectations at that level. We know Gahr is loaded with talent so we're going to need to outwork other teams and execute if we want to challenge for a league championship."

Neither Lynwood nor Dominguez is expected to challenge for a playoff spot.